Assuming Liu's tale is true, it's a sorry commentary on the state of affairs in China's penal system.

如果说刘所讲的都是真的，那么中国的刑罚制度真是可悲。

youdao

The chief aims of the penal system are to deter the potential lawbreaker and to reform the convicted offender.

刑罚制度的主要目的是阻止潜在的违法者，并改造已判的违法者。

youdao

The chief aims of the penal system are to deter the potential lawbreaker and to reform. the convicted offender.

刑罚制度的主要目的是阻止潜在的违法者，并改造已判的违法者。

youdao

"Exclusion is at the end of a complicated chain that often begins with poverty and the lack of education, involves the criminal justice system, the penal institution and often ends in isolation, bitterness and disfranchisement."

VOA: standard.2010.03.25

The one-time prison also offers a chilling look at the apartheid regime, where deep racial inequalities permeated even the penal system.

BBC: In the footsteps of greatness

Mr Clarke argued that this made his efforts to reform the penal system and cut reoffending even more important.

BBC: Ken Clarke says riots 'legacy of broken penal system'

Justice Secretary Ken Clarke has blamed the "broken penal system" for the riots that erupted across England last month.

BBC: Ken Clarke says riots 'legacy of broken penal system'